Farmers’ Friendly Innovative Sustainable Agriculture Policy

The present government should accept the challenges of solving the persisting problems of farmers/landless labour by scrapping the age-old agriculture policy and bringing a new farmers’ friendly innovative sustainable agriculture policy to protect the interest of farmers and landless labour. Some suggestions are:

1. Compulsory Insurance Coverage: Compulsory insurance coverage for all types of agriculture and livestock products including crops, vegetables, fruits, flowers, and animals breeding including pig, cow, buffalo, goat, fish, bee, birds, etc similar to automobile industry applying innovative per acre production cost based modules so that insurance company can estimate the losses through independent trained Agricultural/ Animal Husbandry persons and settle the claims instantly without involving government. Both state & center government may support by contributing a part of the premium particularly for marginal farmers whose land area is less than 5 acres. This scheme will not only generate huge agriculture insurance fund for insurance companies but also open massive employment opportunities for villagers after giving them professional training for loss evaluation.

2. Integrated Farming Module under a Company: Since only farming is not a viable option particularly for marginal farmers and farmers are lack of knowledge of latest technologies and management skill and are extremely financial weak to sell their products at market driven prices, the government under the new scheme should encourage farmers to start joint ‘Integrated Farming’ promoting a Private Limited Company called ‘Producer Company’ by them where they run the ‘INTEGRATED FARMIMG’ Module (producing both agriculture & livestock products simultaneously) professionally and get all benefits as available in industry.

3. Long-term Agriculture Loan without Collateral Security: The Agriculture/Commercial Bank should be instructed by the government to give long-term loan at nominal interest rates without ‘Collateral Security’ to the ‘Producer Company’ on submitting their project reports for ‘Integrated Farming’ subject to recruit experts as directors to run the company professionally.

4. Direct Marketing of Finished Product: The products should be sorted, processed, packed and stored and sold as finished products to get maximum revenues. The products should be sold in both domestic & foreign markets by establishing its brand.

5. Insurance Coverage for farmers/landless labour: All marginal farmers and landless labour and their families should be brought under both accidental (say, Rs.5 lacs) and Medi-claim (say, Rs.1 lac per family) insurance schemes so that if anyone dies their family can get good compensation. Here also both centre and state governments can share part of the premiums.

6. Assignment of Ministers/MPs/MLAs: On surveying it was found that villagers/farmers have little knowledge of recently declared social schemes like Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana, Atal Pension Yojana, Mudra Bank, etc. Barring attending Parliament/Assembly Ministers/MPs/MLAs should totally avoid of their presences in various functions, meetings, and inaugural programmes and stay in their constituencies with the ordinary people and motivate everyone to join in these schemes and personally supervise so that these schemes could be reached to the door of the last beneficiary also.

7. Awareness on Land Acquisition Bill: Ministers/MPs/MLAs during their interactions with farmers/ordinary people should also explain them the benefits of new Land Acquisition Bill.

8. High Agriculture GDP: Furthermore, if part of Rs.8.5 lac crore this year budgets for agriculture sector can divert to support for ‘INTEGRATED FARMIMG’ then there will be huge employment potential for villagers with benefits (PF, Gratuity, Medi-Claim, LTA) like in industry and also contribution of agriculture sector in GDP will be unexpected high. Besides, rural economy will totally change with huge purchasing power capacity and no subsidy or social security will be required to support the livelihood of villagers.

9. No Farmer Suicide: After implementing all the above schemes ultimate achievement - no farmer will commit suicide or panicky due to flood or draught or any other natural calamity. more